Fantastic original concept painting of a saloon's interior for the 1967 Paramount Pictures Western film El Dorado, directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne and Robert Mitchum. Accomplished in gouache on a 19.5 x 10.75 sheet, with a stamp to the lower right corner noting the unit art director and illustrator (rendered indiscernible against the dark background of the scene). The strikingly detailed concept artwork portrays a stereotypical Old West saloon, complete with a piano player on the right, card table at center, and bar on the left, with a mysterious stranger walking through the swinging saloon doors. A cowboy with a holstered gun on his belt stands in the foreground on the far left, framing the classic scene. Double-matted and framed to an overall size of 28.5 x 19.75, with an engraved plaque reading: "Howard Hawks 'El Dorado,' John Wayne, Robert Mitchum." In fine condition. This is a marvelous piece of concept art which closely mirrors and clearly inspired Mitchum's famous vengeance scene in the saloon, where he barks, 'Let me hear you laugh!' The film later returns to the saloon for the shootout finale. It is rare to have a piece of concept art so closely aligned to a scene in the film, let alone such a memorable one—a stunning piece of production artwork from one of John Wayne's classic Westerns. Robert Shelton's Old Tucson Studios Collection
